Tag Archives: Florin Gardos

With echoes of the signing of Dejan Lovren last summer, Saints have moved to bring in his replacement now the Croatian’s body has been reunited with his head in Liverpool and it comes in the form of Romanian international Florin Gardos.

As painful as it was to hear Lovren’s desire to head to Anfield it was equally as nice to hear that Gardos is rumoured to have acted a bit Lovren-like in his desire to join Saints. One journalist even suggested the centre half had made his first trip to Southampton without the permission of his club Steaua Bucherest.

As is customary at georgeweahscousin.com we like to seek the advice of an expert, someone who has seen a new player play far more than us. In this case it would be someone who has seen Gardos play at all, as I will hold my hands up and say that I had never heard of him until the links last week.

Many Saints fans will know little of Gardos other than he is a central defender, what type of player is he?

RB ‘Well, you should all be familiar enough by now with Tottenham’s Chiriches, so I’ll relate to that: when Chiriches was still at Steaua, it was a bad period for Gardos, as he rarely managed to play ahead of him, having to settle for a place on the bench. And this is something that might not do him good in a competitive place/team – he might give up the fight… On the bright side, when Chiriches was sold he stepped up and filled his shoes without any effort-he was physically and mentally ready and he’s been doing very well ever since.He’s somewhat similar to Chiriches in style – ball playing central defender, who’s comfortable in possession, steps up from the back, takes part in the build up. But from a physical point of view, he’s more equipped for the role/Premier League, as I don’t expect him to suffer in the air and in a more physical game.’

Does he have any specific strengths and weaknesses?

RB ‘So you’re getting a tall centre back who is reliable on the ball, but who seems to need the confidence / support of the manager. And who will also need to adjust quickly to the superior pace of the game!

Gardos in Champion’s League action for Steaua! (NB, in this picture he has my 14 year old face, but slightly better looking – Chris)

The first thing we were told was of a ban for breaking another players leg, is he hot headed or simply passionate and over excited?

RB ‘It’s an incident dated a few years back, whoever mentioned this must have a good, but selective memory. Yes, it was a nasty challenge from behind for which he had no excuse. He can toy with the accepted limit of aggression on the pitch, which is not a bad thing for a central defender, especially if episodes like the above mentioned don’t appear. His disciplinary record for Steaua, in 4 seasons, is 1 red and 27 yellow cards.’

Gardos (in yellow) in action for Romania! (NB – In this picture he has none of my faces – Chris)

Do you think he is ready for the Premier League?

RB ‘I think he has the quality to play there, but as mentioned before I also think he needs time to settle in a different game, let alone culture. I’d be surprised to see him step in right away, while I also fear for his habit of waiting too quietly for his turn on the bench, if the manager will not offer him quickly chances to start.’

Do you remember the games between Steaua and Saints in 2003?

RB ‘I had to refresh my memory and found the line-ups and results in the both legs. What can I say, Southampton fell to goals scored by Claudiu Raducanu, an ex-striker famous for his wisdom (interesting fact: Raducanu now plays for FC Romania, a team in the Essex Senior Premier League in England – Chris), who was once asked if he’d accept living in a bloc-notes (a notebook) and he was more than happy to give it a shot!’

So there we have it, it looks like Saints have signed a player from under the radar, something that could prove to be a huge benefit! All eyes on the next one now. The ‘Ronald Revolution’ is underway!